Introduction: Color Wheel Inspiration
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About: I adore sewing and knitting, mostly vintage or vintage-inspired patterns. I hope to inspire others to create lovely and lasting garments that speak of a past era and yet remain timeless and elegant.
When choosing colors, I have the terrible habit of playing it safe. I tend to pair pastels with pastels, and brights with brights.
But every once in a while I like to go back to basics and stare at a color wheel for a bit of inspiration. I don’t bother with complimentary or primary or secondary color “rules,” but rather, just pick and choose something that catches my eye.
But every once in a while I like to go back to basics and stare at a color wheel for a bit of inspiration. I don’t bother with complimentary or primary or secondary color “rules,” but rather, just pick and choose something that catches my eye.
Step 1: Getting Started
This purple silk was purchased online, and when it arrived it was a bit more sheer than I expected (not ideal for the slim fitting skirt I was making). Not to be deterred, I decided to underline!
Step 2: Underlining
I was already planning to underling the back skirt pieces for stability, but I had anticipated using silk organza. However, that was not going to alter the sheer quality of the fabric. In the end, I decided to go with some pink cotton. It is not quite flesh colored, but unlike a matching purple color, it does not change the tone of the silk. It maintains the look of a sheer fabric with quite a bit more modesty built in.
Step 3: Hand Basting
One of the big secrets to dealing with underlining is basting darts and pleat lines before sewing them together. It makes such a difference to help keep the two fabrics from shifting during construction! And, of course, hand sewing two different fabrics together works much better than a machine. The extra time it takes is worth it in the end!
Step 4: The Obvious Choice
Pairing purple with blue and green is lovely, but rather obvious. And that is my go-to when it comes to the color purple.
This blouse that I made as a companion piece for the skirt makes that very clear!
This blouse that I made as a companion piece for the skirt makes that very clear!
Step 5: Fun With Color!
Recently, I pulled my lavender skirt out of the closet and started looking for a suitable blouse. This is one of my favorite prints, so it caught my eye. It is a bit more colorful than most of my wardrobe, but there is a bit of purple there. It is not a perfect match back to the lavender silk, but I love the way the red, green, and yellow bring another tone to the skirt.
Springtime is here!
And that is the magic of color!
Springtime is here!
And that is the magic of color!